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State v. Speight9/7/2004
t a trial court alone may not impose a sentence in excess of the "statutory maximum," unless either a jury's verdict finds that additional facts, or aggravating circumstances, warrant an increased sentence, or the defendant has waived his Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury. . . . [T]he "statutory maximum" for an offense is "the maximum sentence a judge may impose solely on the basis of the facts reflected in the jury verdict or admitted by the defendant." Blakely, U.S. at , 159 L. Ed. 2d at 413. The Court further explained "the relevant `statutory maximum' is not the maximum sentence a judge may impose after finding additional facts, but the maximum he may impose without any additional findings." Blakely, ___ U.S. at ___, 159 L.Ed. 2d at 413-14.
State v. Allen, ___ N.C. App. ___, ___, ___ S.E.2d ___, ___ (No. COA031369 filed 7 September 2004) (slip op. 11-12).
Defendant received two consecutive aggravated sentences of a minimum of twenty and a maximum of twenty-four months for involuntary manslaughter and a consecutive aggravated sentence of twelve months for impaired driving. As the jury did not decide the aggravating factors considered by the trial court, defendant's Sixth Amendment right to a trial by jury was violated. See Blakely, ___ U.S. at ___, 159 L.Ed. 2d at 412.
Nonetheless, the State argues that under a harmless error analysis, defendant's sentences should be upheld. However, as explained in State v. Allen, "[o]ur Supreme Court has definitively stated that when `the [trial] judge [has] erred in a finding or findings in aggravation and imposed a sentence beyond the presumptive term, the case must be remanded for a new sentencing hearing.'" Allen, ___ N.C. App. at ___, ___ S.E.2d at ___ (slip op. 14) (quoting State v. Ahearn, 307 N.C. 584, 602, 300 S.E.2d 689, 701 (1983)). Accordingly, we grant defendant's motion for appropriate relief and remand this case to the trial court for resentencing consistent with the holding in Blakely.
No prejudicial error in trial; remanded for resentencing.
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